Agenda - 09-20-1994 - Laserfiche WebLink

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to the size specified by the state standards, which was larger for kindergarten and primary classes than for upper level classes . The rooms for older students, in particular, were quickly proving to be too small . Older students physically take up more space than kindergarten and primary students, and if one wants them to move around to work at computers and learning centers, their space requirements quickly exceed what is provided by state standards . The lessons learned are : (1) state standards for classroom size are insufficient, and (2 ) there is very little you can do to remedy a too-small classroom once it is built . All classrooms in the proposed elementary school meet or exceed the standards for kindergarten classrooms, so the space for older students should be more adequate and there will be maximum flexibility for classroom usage in future years as needs may change. The Chapel Hill-Carrboro school district has long considered its schools a resource for the entire community. Buildings are used not just by school children between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. but by many other people for many other purposes . After school child care, youth and adult sports and recreation, continuing education for adults, religious services , community performances, parent meetings, etc . , all take place in our schools . For relatively minor additional investments in building facilities and space, our schools provide the entire community with invaluable assets . As I understand it, the financing mechanism chosen to permit the building of this elementary school will rely on pay-as-you-go capital funds for repayment . It seems to me that it is vital not to underestimate the amount of money required. For a school built with bond money, any unforeseen additional expenses can perhaps be covered by pay-as-you-go funds . But when pay-as-you-go funds are the sole source of money, any contingencies that must be covered will seriously impact ongoing operations . While many people in the Triangle area are reveling in the favorable limelight created by articles in Fortune and Money magazines, I am becoming very nervous about the strain on our school facilities which increased growth will bring. It seems clear to me that the explosive growth we are now seeing in our school district is a product primarily of families moving to this area. Year-round schools may accommodate some additional students in the short-run, but I do not see it as a long-term solution. Impact fees, or impact taxes, seem to be the fairest and most appropriate way to place the burden of new school capital expenses where the need is being generated--by new development in the district . I urge you to seriously consider increasing revenues from this source . If a result of increased impact fees or taxes is a reduced rate of development, as builders fear, then at least the burden on taxpayers will also be